I received a good question from Peter Williams, a.k.a. TigerFan1961. Peter is one of the growing number of Surgites in the Down Under Chapter of the Surge Nation and he says he's having difficulty getting vertical in the forward upswing. He describes his swing as a classic baseball swing where his hands stay low and inside. Every time he focuses on going more vertical he manages to cut across the ball and slice it. He asked for a drill that would help him get the club up the tree in his forward upswing that will allow him to hit the ball square and solid and keep him out of the dreaded Sacred Burial Ground.
Well, even though Peter only mentioned his forward upswing in his email, I suspect he's also going way deep into the SBG with his backswing. Remember, Peter, as in life, what goes around comes around. And what goes straight up, also comes straight down. With his self-described baseball swing, he's probably over-turning and the momentum is carrying his hands way past his toe line in both directions. I can recommend a couple of great drills to help you learn the correct swing path. The first is Drill #11 on my "14 Drills to a Better Swing" video; I call it the "Butt on the Wall" Drill. Simply stand up against a wall with your butt touching it as you address the ball. The object is to keep your butt on the wall while you try to make your swing without hitting the wall. I recommend going slowly at first unless you want to punch a few holes in your drywall!
The other drill is fully described in today's video so I won't reprise it here except to say that if you employ two sticks you can learn to ride them up the tree in both directions during the same swing. Just place the rearward stick along your toe line and the forward one along your target line and you will have defined the correct swing path. Good luck to you, Peter, and particularly in your case...
Keep it vertical!